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Sysop Baby
"Sysop Baby" is the 44th episode of Once Upon a Virus. Summary Joe's jealousy reaches its breaking point, while Rena and Justine are busy worrying what sort of parents they're going to make, seeing the first time around as a complete and utter failure. Meanwhile, Emma learns some magic from her mother, while Josh proves his loyalty to the Maleficent Seven. And, in the Wikia world that was, Rena and Lady panic after learning that the latter is pregnant; luckily, their maid MaryPierceLopez steps in to offer some words of comfort. Plot "So, you wanna be a member of my team?" Liz is asking Josh as she walks him through the bakery. "Yes," Josh replies, "As you may know I've been recently… rejected, by the people whose lives I've saved aplenty by now." "Yeah, don't people suck?" Liz brings up, and then, "Anyway, I can't just let you onto the team – I'm sure you understand." "What do you mean? You're kicking me out?" "No! Not at all!" Liz promises, "I'll be happy to have you… after you prove your loyalty. Obviously we've had some recent mutinous actions, a la Brad, and you saw how that all ended in a bloody mess. So, yeah." "Alright," Josh nods, "How do I prove my loyalty?" "I have a few ideas in mind. Come meet the rest of the group. Of course, you'll understand if some of them don't trust you. After all, you were in so tight with those 'heroes'…" Joe and Rachel can be seen dashing towards Peep, who's been helped to her feet by Emma, both of them still joyous after the Blood Wiccan's scrape with death. "You're… okay?" Rachel questions. "Yes," Peep nods, tears in her eyes, "Emma… she saved me." "How?" Joe wonders, confused, and Emma reveals to him, "I tapped into my magic. It… it was kinda easy, really." "You were amazing," Peep tells her. "Do you think you could… teach me a few things? Like, spells?" Emma inquires, and her mother answers positively, saying that she'd be happy to do so. They embrace, and Joe looks surprised to see that the estranged pair now seem to be enjoying such a seemingly blissful relationship with one another. "I'll go back to the apartment with you guys," Rachel is heard saying, beginning to converse with the girls while Joe's phone buzzes. He takes it from out of his pocket and sees that Rena is the one calling him. "Dad?" Joe says as he answers it, and Rena tells his son to get down to The Sword and Hammer as quickly as he can. Joe appears further confused. Brad's dead body continues to lie there, face to the floor, emanating a large puddle of blood from his chest as Joe enters the Smiths' bar. "What the hell happened here?" he asks in shock, but no one has time to answer because Justine immediately flings herself around him, tightly embracing her son in tears. "It was horrible," she finally says, "He came in here with this… this magic stick thing, and he began zapping people, and he shot daddy – but he's okay – and he tried to… zap Rena, but then Liz came in, and she stabbed him." "Oh, my God…" Joe utters, shocked by the whole story, "My sword killed him?" "What?" Lady asks, not quite having heard him, but Joe says that it doesn't matter, then bringing himself to ask, "What do you mean magic stick?" "It was a golden staff," Rena reveals, standing beside his father, "It shot lightning out of these black and white crystal things." Joe is struck by this description, having seen the exact same thing in Dlr's vision of the future, while his mother continues to embrace him, saying that she's so glad he's there. "Rena," Lady Junky is saying in flashback, trying to wake him up by rocking him gently in their grand, bureaucratic bed, "Rena!" "What? What is it?!" Rena Charming exclaims, waking up suddenly to see his wife standing over him, "Are you okay?" "I'm better than okay," she tells him, sitting on the foot of the bed while her husband sits up, "I have some… news." "News?" Rena questions, "Isn't it a little early for news? We could get Mary to whip up some breakfast first, or…" "No, honey, this is good news," she assures. "Well what is it?" he asks, smiling now. After a deep breath, the beautiful blonde Bureaucrat finally announces, "I'm pregnant." Rena is stunned, hesitating to react at all. Just as he's about to say something, however, he's suddenly interrupted: "Dios mio!" MaryPierceLopez exclaims, having overheard, "I just came in here to make the beds and… I'll go fetch some champagne to celebrate!" She then looks to Lady and says, "Sparkling water for you, of course." Laughing, Lady thanks her, and as the maid walks off, she can be heard saying, "Oh, this is so wonderful. Soon I'll be tending to the pitter-patter of little Admin feet." "I'm glad someone's happy," Rena notes. "What does that mean?" Lady asks, furrowing her brow, "You're not happy?" Having gotten himself into a jam, Rena quickly tries to save himself by saying, "No, I'm not." Lady is confused for a moment, until her husband adds, "I am ecstatic." Ecstatic herself to hear this, Lady leans in to kiss her husband, whose uneasy expression remains evident on his face as this moves into a simple hug. Brad's dead body is carefully placed into a freshly dug grave by Joe, Rena and Tiago out in the fields of Storywik, with Justine standing by three dirty shovels up above. The deceased fairy is buried next to his beloved Sannse, and silence ensues over the whole family as the grave is filled in. When the task is finally complete, Justine asks the others if perhaps they should say a few words to commemorate the loss. "Like what?" Rena questions, "'If you weren't stabbed, I'd be drifting off in the wind right now, but sorry anyway'?" His wife shoots him a look and he clears his throat, ready to speak, "Um… Brad was… a good fairy… for a while, I guess. And… now he gets to be with all his old friends, so… yeah." "Really?" Justine questions, "That's the best you could do?" "Well I'd like to see you do better," Rena argues, Joe and Tiago standing awkwardly by. "It just seems wrong, I don't know… he was so good up until his head snapped." "Well it did snap, and it's hard to feel all that sorry for a man who took our people hostage and killed one of them – who, by the way, is having no words said about them right now." "Oh, God… are we bad leaders?" "No," Rena assures, "We're just… always getting into dangerous situations, that's all." "Well that's no good, with a baby on the way!" Justine exclaims. "We'll be fine… we always are…" "We're always lucky," Lady amends, "But what if that luck runs out? What if our dangerous life catches up to his child? Lord knows it did the first time around; our first baby was a disaster!" This hits Joe hard, and suddenly Rena and Justine become wary of the people watching them, turning awkwardly to their son. Joanna, Emma and Rachel all arrive at the former's apartment, where a large tarp has been drawn over the hole which still remains in the wall from when James was sent tumbling through it by Silvia all that time ago (see "Two's Company"); it blows in the wind. "So, this is your girlfriend?" Emma questions, and Joanna nods, introducing her daughter to Rachel. "It's great to meet you, I'm Rachel, used to be Dlrgirl75, I was genie, before that I was a witch, I once died but then time reversed and I didn't, it was in this very room actually, after I first met your mother, not that she actually remembers our first meeting 'cause, like I said, time reversing and all that – sorry, am I rambling?" "A little," Emma nods, smiling, "But it's okay. It's… cool to meet you." "You too," Rachel nods, shaking her girlfriend's daughter's hand. "Snacks!" Rachel suddenly exclaims. "What?" Emma asks, delightfully confused. "We need some – to celebrate… stuff. I'll head to the store; be right back. Don't move!" She quickly dashes from the apartment, shutting the door behind her, and Emma tells her mother that she likes her girlfriend, which Joanna is pleased with. The two of them are soon sitting on the bed, and Emma asks her mother if there's anything she can teach her. "Sure," Joanna says, "Raise your hand – like this." Emma copies her mother's movement. "Now close your eyes, and think." "Think of what?" Emma wonders. "Of who you want to hurt. Let that be your guide. Think of the people who have wronged you throughout your life, and how much you'd punish them if you could. Let the hate bubble within you. Let it seep through every pore in your body. Let it dictate your every move. Let it consume you. Let it fuel the magic." Red lightning flares up in the palm of Joanna's hand, and she tells Emma to open her eyes. When she does, she sees that red lightning has flared up in hers as well, and she seems deeply impressed with herself, staring intensely at the red ball of energy. "And this… is powerful?" "More powerful than mine, probably," Joanna reveals, clenching her fist and extinguishing what she's conjured. Emma does the same, and then re-flares it, extinguishing it thrice in all, and her mother says that she's already getting the hang of it. "Wanna try something bigger?" Joanna wonders. "Sure," Emma says, and then the redhead waves her hand and causes the tarp covering the hole in the wall to evaporate out of existence. "Fix the wall," she tells her daughter. "What?" "You can do it," Joanna promises, "I trust in your power; just focus, like the last time, and let your magic flow out of your body." Emma faces the wall, yet again closing her eyes. "Let it wrap around the matter of this Earth like tendrils. It is an extension of you, and it will do whatever you wish of it… so long as you let it know you're in control. Think… dominant. Think assertively. Assert your power over your powers. Make it do what you want it to do. Hold on to what I told you before. Be passionate. Be ruthless. Be… me." Emma looks as though she's meditating, focusing hard. Joanna watches in awe as dust begins to rise in the apartment, swirling around the hole in the wall, filling it in, packing into itself, solidifying, forming stone and brick and then… it's done. The wall is fixed, once and for all. Emma once again opens her eyes to see that she's accomplished what she set out to do. Breathing heavily, she utters, "Wow." "I'll say," Joanna smiles, patting her daughter on the back in a congratulatory manner. Rena, Justine and Joe can be seen awkwardly filing into the former two's apartment, not saying a word for a little while until they're all standing in the living area. "Do you guys… regret having me?" Joe finds himself asking. "What?" Rena questions, "Of course not… we love you, Joe." "I know that, but… it's just…" "Just what?" Rena asks. "I don't even know. I've just been feeling… weird lately. All this stuff going on and you guys being pregnant it just feels like… like you're finally getting the life you wanted and I'm not a part of it." "Of course you're a part of it," Justine finally speaks up, "This baby might be like a second chance to us, but… it's not like we're throwing you away…" In flashback, Rena and Lady can be seen in the dining room of the palace, talking over dinner to one another. "Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?" Lady asks, to which Rena says that he doesn't know. "I think I'd want a little girl, someone to dress up and take to balls… won't that be fun?" "Mhm," Rena says, chewing some food as he does. "And if it's a boy, you could teach him to fight with swords and ride horses and stuff, right?" "Yeah, I guess," Rena nods, and Lady sighs, realizing, "You're not excited, are you?" Rena pauses, his wife staring him down while he does so, and he finally comes out with, "It's not that I'm not excited, it's just that I'm… worried, you know? That… I don't even know, but, I am, and you keep talking about it, and it makes me ever more and more and more worried and… I'm sorry." "The only reason I keep talking about it is because I'm trying to get myself excited…" Lady reveals. "You mean…?" "I'm worried, too," she admits. "Well, that's no good!" Rena exclaims, "At least one of us needs to be excited! You seemed so happy earlier…" "Because I thought you would be happy, I didn't wanna upset you!" "Oh, God…" Rena finds himself uttering. "I didn't exactly have the world's greatest father," Lady begins, to which Rena adds, "I didn't exactly have the world's greatest mother; she abandoned me." "Are we in trouble?" Lady wonders, but Rena shrugs, not knowing. Just outside the room, MaryPierceLopez stands looking sad, having heard all of this on her way to serve her masters. She then thinks to herself, nods, and walks away determined. "Isn't it?" Joe asks, "I mean, it's not like you're really my parents…" "What do you mean?" Justine asks, hurt. "Well, you didn't raise me. We're about the same age. In fact, I might just be a little bit older. We've not even known each other for that long – how well do we even really know each other? I know you love me, and I love you guys too, and I've gotten into the swing of calling you 'mom' and 'dad' but… in all honesty… we're nothing more than really good acquaintances." "That's not fair!" Justine exclaims, "It's not our fault that we never got to see your first steps; everything that happened was entirely out of our hands – literally, DeviousPeep snatched you out of my hands – and the Virus was coming, and you'd still be a baby right now if it had consumed you… and… and… for the brief moment that I held you in my arms, the love I felt for that baby, the love I carry for you today… When my mother took my memories, my love for you was still strong enough to pull be back. If that's what a really good acquaintance is to you, I… I…" she can't say anymore, for she suddenly clutches her stomach in pain. "Justine?" Rena questions. "Mom?" adds Joe, and then she collapses. Liz is busy in the bakery, inspecting the Staff of Peace, pondering ways how to destroy it. In a fit of passion, she grabs the thing and tries using her enhanced bot strength to just snap it clean in half… but of course she doesn't work, and so she just sets it back down in frustration. "Um, I'm ready," says Josh, walking into the room from behind, "For the 'test'." "Yes, good," Liz says, never taking her eyes off the Staff, "Selena knows what to do with you. Go with here." "Hi!" Selena exclaims, walking into the room as well, "Ready to go?" Josh nods, warily, and leaves with the incompetent Blood Wiccan. Selena is next seen driving Josh in the Kahns' expensive car through the woodland roads. "Where are we going?" Josh wonders. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to divulge such information," she tells him, trying to maintain an air of seriousness which is slightly ruined by her misbuttoned blouse. "Whose car even if this?" Josh wonders further, and she gives him the same reply, this time sneezing in the middle and making the car swerve minutely, to Josh's fear. "Alright," she says as they approach a near cliff, "Here we are." "You're gonna pull over beside the cliff?" Josh asks, to which Selena replies, "Not exactly." She proceeds to drive right over the edge, allowing the car to begin falling down the steep cliff. "What are you doing?!" Josh manages to yell. "This is the test!" Selena says happily as they fall to their doom. "What the—" and then he vanishes in a flurry of black smoke, appearing back at the top of the cliff. He looks down and sees the car explode at the bottom with Selena inside, wondering what on Earth just happened. "Well done!" a voice suddenly exclaims, startling him, "You passed!" He turns around to see Selena standing there, and he asks her how she escaped. "A little trick I was able to pull with Brad's fairy wand – Liz lifted it off his body when she got the Staff – the Selena in the car was an illusion," she says this last part spookily. "So… that was the test?" "Yes," Selena nods, "And you passed! Well done, by the way." "What do you mean, I passed. I…" "Left me to die?" Selena questions, "Yes, you did. And if you had saved me, you would have been a real hero. Luckily, our group isn't for heroes. It's for villains. You could have teleported me out with you, but you didn't. And that selfishness… well, it proves your ready to be a member of the Maleficent Seven. Ain't that great?!" "Yeah… terrific," Josh nods, pondering the implications of this character assessment, looking down at the car wreck at the bottom of the cliff. Emma and Joanna are still sitting, talking, and Emma is wondering, "You talked about 'hate' a lot… have you experienced a lot of that?" "Oh, yeah," Joanna nods, "More than a lifetime's worth." "I get that," says Emma, "Did you ever… act on it?" Joanna pauses, but finally admits, "Yes." "So you've done… bad things?" "I shan't lie to you: I have… terrible things." "Like what?" "I killed my sister," Joanna says, "I mean, she's still alive… but I took the knife… and I stabbed her… because I thought it would help me get to this world." A tear leaks from her eye, "Please don't… judge me on who I used to be." "That's nothing compared to what I've seen… when I met you, you were all… black eyes and crying blood and taking over the world." "Well, that was the Silvia in me. Or at least, I like to believe it was. A part of me thinks there was more of me in there than I realized. Like when I killed my servant, Selena…" "That's okay," Emma assures, "Just… no more cars, alright?" Joanna smiles through her tears, and promises this. "Now," she adds, "Where's Rachel with those snacks?" Rachel, meanwhile, is standing outside the door, having heard the conversation that just took place. She sighs sadly. Rena is driving to the hospital with Joe and an unconscious Justine in the back seat. "I'm sorry for everything I said," Joe is crying, "If anything happened to you, I… I…" "It's okay," Rena tells him, "Let's just focus on getting her to a doctor." "Mrs. Lady, Mr. Rena, can you come in here for a moment?!" MaryPierceLopez calls from the throne room, and the sysop couple soon come rushing in, asking their maid what the matter is. "Sit down," she advises, and the two of them make their way to their respective thrones, Mary in front of them. "What's this about?" Rena wonders, and Mary begins by saying, "I heard you talking earlier… about how frightened you are about having this baby, and I felt the need, as your maid and your friend, to step in and tell you that… it's okay. To feel that way, I mean." "Mary, this is very sweet," Lady assures, "But…" "Did I ever tell you about my mother, Rosie 7?" Mary wonders, and the two Bureaucrats shake their head, "She turned up dead some time ago… I have no idea what happened. There was some sort of chaos and… she was gone." "We're so sorry," says Rena. "It was devastating, yes, but that's not the important part of the story," Mary goes on, "She always told me that I was the best thing that ever happened to her. Before she had me, she was poor and alone and unable to escape the dankness of the Devious Maids Wiki. But she never wanted a child. Never ever. She knew she would never be able to look after it. She knew that it had little chance of survival in that place… and then she fell pregnant, with me. She never regretted having me, I could tell. That woman had so much love to give, and even though she thought a baby would ruin what was left of her life… I like to think that I enriched it. That I gave her something to live for." "That's very inspiring," Lady assures, "But our situation…" "Is different, I know," Mary nods, "Everyone's is. But the point is… you never know how your life is going to turn out until you live it. You might fear you're going to be bad parents, but you can't be sure until your child is born. And oh… how you'll love it. That you can be sure of." Lady and Rena smile at their maid, and then to each other; the former rubs her pregnant belly. Justine is now awake and lying in Dr. Strange's office; he's busy conducting an ultrasound. "Well, everything appears to be in order," he assures, to the relief of Rena and Joe who are standing by. "So, why did she collapse?" Rena wonders. "Due to stress, most likely. Have you been under a lot of stress lately?" "Well, we were taken hostage yesterday," Justine reveals, and Dr. Strange tells her that that ought to do it. "So… the baby's healthy?" Justine makes sure. "She absolutely is," Dr. Strange smiles, to which the beautiful blonde's jaw drops and she questions, "'She'?" "Oh, I'm sorry, did you not want to know? I know it's too early to tell in this world, but, back in Wikia I was a midwife and we had all these superstitions and I can just tell; again, I'm… so sorry." "Don't be," Justine says, turning to her husband, "We're having a girl!" she exclaims. "I heard," says Rena, giving her a kiss. "I'm… gonna have a little sister?" Joe questions, and Justine tells him that she sure is. Rena then moves out of the way so that Joe can hugs his mother, and she kisses him on the forehead. "Would you like me to give you a minute?" Dr. Strange wonders. "I would like for nothing, doctor," Lady assures, "I got both my babies right here." Lady's baby bump is beginning to show in flashback, and Rena wonders if she'd like to come and watch Mary ring the bells to announce her pregnancy to the whole kingdom (see "The Wiki Witch"), but Lady declines his offer, saying that she has somewhere else to be. We next see her knocking on the door to the Community Central Palace, and Sannse answers to her. "Lady," she smiles, "What a pleasant surprise. I heard about your little bundle of joy - congratulations." "Thank you, Sannse," Lady smiles, rubbing her baby momentarily, "May I come in? I have something I'd like to discuss with you." "Why of course. What is it you'd like to discuss, old friend?" "My maid, MaryPierceLopez. It's always been her dream to work here as a fairy… I'd like to talk to you about making that happen." "I'm sure we can work something out," Sannse nods, beckoning the blonde inside. Josh knocks on the bakery door and Liz invites him in; he's followed by Selena, who tells her boss that Josh passed the test with flying colors. Liz is happy to hear this, telling her sycophantic inferior to make her way into another room, and Selena does just that, leaving Liz and Josh alone. "So… what now?" Josh wonders. "Now that you've proved your loyalty… I can give you your first assignment," says Liz. "What would that be?" "It's simple really," Liz assures, "You have to turn the savior dark." After a pause, Josh replies with a sly smile, "Done." Category:Season 4 Category:Episodes Category:Lady Junky-Centric Category:Rena Charming-Centric